Barry Manilow’s Paris occupation

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What: Barry Manilow

Where: Paris Las Vegas; 946-7000

When: 7:30 p.m., April 2 through June 4

Cost: $95-$299

Barry Manilow has moved. To Paris.

I hear some of you cheering. Knock it off: He's still in town — at Paris Las Vegas. Scoff, sneer, swear you'd never see his show, or that you don't know that tune (or that one or that one). But Manilow is undeniably the best showman and biggest star abiding in this patch of desert. Respect.

Manilow's Paris occupation is a good move for the entertainer: He's now represented by concert production/promotion giant AEG Live, and his show benefits from an all-around technological upgrade, a more expansive stage and a swanky, scarlet-draped showroom.

The show opens with a montage of Gallic imagery, then a widescreen MANILOW blazes blindingly in amber lights, and Manilow strikes a melodramatic, messianic pose, introducing "Could It Be Magic."

Winking and twinkling in a black brocade tux jacket, his trademark shock of hair an elfin mashup of Keith Richards and Kate Gosselin, Manilow is charmingly in on the joke.

And he's in fine voice, seemingly smiling even when singing of things that used to be. He had me at "This One's For You," with all its emotionally manipulative modulations.

Manilow has kept some of the best bits from his previous shows — the sentimental homage to his grandfather, a duet with his recorded self as a 4-year-old on "Nature Boy" (this "very strange enchanted boy" hits a few blue notes worthy of Billie Holiday), and on the cusp of '70s stardom, performing "Mandy" with his original nose on The Midnight Special.

The new show was directed and choreographed by Jeffrey Hornaday, an alumnus of High School Musical, though Manilow, like the similarly 60-something Cher, makes the most of minimal movements, occasionally cocking an (expensive) hip to loud, lustful (really!) screams.

The now-obligatory video screens are put to the best, and least-obtrusive, use I've seen on the Strip, offering framed sepia-toned seascapes, Brooklyn Bridge views and Impressionist details as backdrops for songs.

I wondered how Manilow was going to top the Star Wars-style skybridge that cantilevered him out over the Hilton crowd during the mandatory "Copacabana" finale. But he's done it here, with a giddy burst of animated rococo psychedelia blooming on the high-res screens behind him.

Where his earlier shows (Music and Passion and Ultimate Manilow) were relentlessly energetic, focused on the hits and only the hits, his Paris revue is more measured, sophisticated and self-indulgent. There are occasional lulls — notably when Manilow is shilling his current album The Greatest Love Songs of All Time — but soon enough he's back to the hits, and all is well.

Paris Las VegasThe Paris Las Vegas transports visitors to the City of Light. Paris Las Vegas captures all the details of Paris, right down to the cobblestone sidewalks and half-scale replica of the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe. Wrought iron street lamps line the 85,000 square foot casino with the legs of the Eiffel Tower sit in the middle of 1,700 slots and 90 table games.
Guests can dine at the Eiffel Tower Restaurant, but beware, it's by reservation only. Diners can watch the world pass by at Mon Ami Gabi, a fine French restaurant where the most popular tables are the ones outside facing The Strip. Dining isn't just limited to the French, Asian restaurant Ah Sin is host to many dishes from the Pacific Rim. If you've just hit the jackpot on the casino floor, try the $777 Kobe beef and Maine lobster at Le Burger Brasserie.
Famous pastry chef Gaston Lenôtre opened a branch of his renowned pastry shop on the cobblestone-lined Le Boulevard, a street filled with intimate shops and restaurants, all underneath a blue cloud-filled ceiling. Strolling along Le Boulevard don't be surprised to see an extremely lifelike bronze statue move, that's because it's a real person
The City of Light doesn't go dark after dark. Anthony Cools - The Uncensored Hypnotist checks inhibitions at the door and pushes the limits of the audiences mind and body. Sitting right above the restaurant is nightclub Risqué, Paris' ultra lounge that is as fun as it is fantastic.

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Redundant? You have got to be kidding me. He is not a has been as previous commenter states, he is the right now and right now is forever. His show is fresh and entertaining, romantic and sweet, hot (move those hips Barry) and sensual. He stated he wanted to make it a special show and it is. Why dont you, souper12, move to the real Paris and take the trash you listen to with you. At least you can understand what Barry is saying and he doesn't use profanity in his songs.